One of Nokia's first Lumia ads showed a couple shooting video with a Lumia 920, comparing it to video shot without Nokia's optical image stabilization. The footage, however, was faked.
Nokia

Nokia said it exercised "poor judgment" in faking video and stills supposedly shot by the recently unveiled Lumia 920 and that it has taken "appropriate action" to deal with the situation.

A Nokia representative, however, declined to specify what "appropriate action" actually meant.

"Today, we concluded the internal investigation, and our findings confirm that poor judgment was exercised in the use of the materials," the company said in an e-mailed statement. "As a result, we have taken appropriate action."

Shortly after Nokia debuted the Lumia 920 and showed off a video and photos meant to illustrate the power of its PureView camera, bloggers including The Verge pointed out that the vid and photos were simulated and shot with other equipment. Nokia apologized shortly after and launched an internal probe into the snafu.

The faked image controversy is an ill-timed black eye for a company that's still out to prove that its Windows Phone 8-powered line of Lumia smartphones are worth purchasing.

The PureView camera was supposed to be one of Nokia's biggest features, and it's unclear how much of an impact this stumble will have on sales or on the perception of the company.

The phones are expected to launch later this year in selected markets. But the devices face tough competition with the recently unveiled iPhone 5, preorders for which are already being taken and which will hit stores next Friday.

About the author

Roger Cheng is the executive editor in charge of breaking news for CNET News. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade. He's a devoted Trojan alum and Los Angeles Lakers fan.
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